Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, heavy equipment giant Caterpillar (CAT -7.02%) has earned a respected four-star ranking.
With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Caterpillar and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.
Caterpillar facts
Headquarters (founded) |
Peoria, Ill. (1925) |
Market Cap |
$55.1 billion |
Industry |
Construction and farm machinery |
Trailing-12-Month Revenue |
$63.1 billion |
Management |
Chairman/CEO Douglas Oberhelman CFO Bradley Halverson |
Return on Equity (average, past 3 years) |
33.4% |
Cash/Debt |
$6.0 billion / $36.2 billion |
Dividend Yield |
2.6% |
Competitors |
CNH Global Deere Terex |
On CAPS, 94% of the 6,088 members who have rated Caterpillar believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.
Just yesterday, one of those Fools, Googlespooch, succinctly summed up the bull case for our community:
Caterpillar simply is the best at what it does: making heavy earth-moving machinery. This fact has helped to keep Caterpillar the industry titan in a complex, cyclical business. Caterpillar's strong financial standing and opportunities in China all seem to point to the company as a safe bet. In addition, at this current price, they seem undervalued which helps reduce downside risk. They also have a nice dividend yield of 2.6% which should help to reduce short pressure. Even though they have had some earnings weakness lately, I believe that they can bounce back in the coming quarters and years.